We Are Stars
by Princess Santa Clause
Summary: When the Ozuki High tutoring club falls apart, they hatch a plan to reclaim their lost attention by reviving their lost basketball club. They take on the task with the expectation that they'll return to their club at the end of the season. However, along the way, they run into drama, pain, comfort, friendship, love, and dare I say: Sisterhood. Canon x Oc Canon x Canon Oc x Oc
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: HELLO! Everybody! Princess Santa Clause here. It's been a while since I've updated here... Starting at a crazy new school with crazy new 12-hour schedules does that to ya. Either way, my Snowflakes... I've decided to try something new! A long term story that I've decided to try out after watching and growing addicted to Kuroko no Basuke. Yeah, I know. Totally late right?**

 **Thing is. I usually** _ **Hate**_ **sports-oriented anime, but I actually really loved this one! Either way, this is going to be a slow building story filled with love, friendship, drama, angst, and sisterhood. so I hope you really enjoy!**

The Ozuki High School Tutoring Club.

Each of its diverse 20 stars were all blessed with an exceptional skill in a field of academics. They took struggling students under their wings, and taught them required skills to succeed, then let them fly free to success.

All from 278, a large room separated through the middle with several screens -to give it a more cubicle like feel-, they thrived in their work, gaining themselves recognition, prestige, credibility, and a heavy fanbase of repeat customers. It was life. It was love. It was the pursuit of something greater within the student body! It was…

"This place is dead."

Music Star; Suzuki Himei… Always willing to say what's on her mind – Regardless of how it impacted the other members. Speaking of which, several were now keeling over out of a crippling sense of loss and depression from that comment alone.

"W-Wait..." A young girl of more strawberry pink hair raised her hands defensively. Physical Education Star: Kameyo Antei. "I-It's not dead at all… Just this morning I had three people stop by for assistance!" Desperately attempting to raise the morale, she began to nod furiously in assurance, "I'm sure there's still hope-"

"OH PLEASE," Suzuki bellowed out. She leaned back in her chair, fingers fastened behind her head. One could see the more disdainful expression creeping on her face as she spoke seemingly from the corner of her lips, "I'm pretty sure they didn't just come for the _lessons._ " It was easy to insinuate. A physical education tutor that was prone to really immersing herself into the lessons she gave… Jumping… Spinning.. Sprinting… "With a chest like that."

"Hah..?" Kameyo's eyes slowly slid down from her shoulders, peering at her chest for a moment. Immediately a tint as pink as her hair spread over her face, "N-No! I .. It.. I mean.. I..."

Said procurer of music would have received a swift 'pap' across the head with a full-form swing of a thick paper fan from none other than the club's very own History Star: Akira Ringo, "You're riling her up. Stop it." Keeping the fan behind her back, but out of the scrambling Suzuki's reach, Akira raised her fingers, pressing her glasses up onto her face, "It's to be expected… this drop in our productivity. We peaked with twenty members at our best… Now we're barely getting by with the eight members we have."

Eight. Eight members.

One could hear a very slight tapping sound echoing from the room, but because of its faint nature, it went unnoticed.

"Well, we had ten just at the beginning of the week," Suzuki spoke up, kicking her foot up to the edge of the desk whilst rubbing the potential bruise the paper fan had left her, "Shiori ditched us for _not being productive._ And Kasumi said she had _better things to spend her time on_."

Well. There was the crippling depression again, as made apparent by the way everyone abruptly began to slouch around the little wooden round table.

The tapping had intensified as well, becoming the steady sound of an object violently pounding against the edge of the table.

"Eight members." It was a soft, nearly eerie tone that came easing from the mouth of the Physics Star: Rina Mai. Her jade green eyes, normally hidden slightly by her black bangs, were now prominently showing from the space between hair, practically pulsing with contempt. "We sat… nicely… evenly… carefully… upon a throne of 20 members." Her brow was now beginning to twitch, her pupils seeming to shrink intensely, "We sat… evenly… capably… carefully… upon a throne of _ten_ members..."

There was a recurrence here. _Evenly._ As fate would have it. Rina was terribly obsessive with order and numbers. Even… Straight… That was how things should have been. She most-often had what most would call a literal meltdown when things violated the laws of her mentally formatted order. "We need two members. We need two more."

"Rina..." From the direction of this voice offered a soothing wind from the light motion of a decorated, orchid-patterned paper fan. None other than the Art Star; Sasayaki Hanabira. "No need to be so hasty… Our goal is to offer optimal assistance services to our students… The quantity of our members isn't as important as their skills as tutors...right?" Always with a calm sense of wisdom. However, this time, her words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

" **That is irrelevant now."**

The host of the members looked to their unofficial leader with a mixture of expressions – though for the most part, they displayed clear surprise and/or confusion.

"Ri..na..." The quiet… soft-spoken Home Economics Star; Ume Amai. She was normally one that stuck with the group out of fear of leaving, but the little outburst from Rina seemed to send shivers up her spine, "A..A-Are you..."

" **No.** " A dark… brooding purple aura had overtaken her, blazingly enveloping her form like a terrifying storm, " **Listen up.** "

"Sorry, I'm late." The Japanese used here was a bit broken. It was enough to call it fluent, but the little spaces and pauses in between dictated thinking or further processing in a sense. This blonde bombshell was what the tutor class referred to as their ...Moral Support Star: Alison Miller. She had come in from London a couple of months ago, and more-or-less claimed that she had no redeeming skills to offer but her ability to reaffirm the spirits of tutoring hopefuls. She came in, dropping her bag at her chair and taking a seat, "Were we talking about anything import- " Her blue eyes slowly slid to Rina, to which she drew silent, simply looking around the table for some sort of explanation.

"Ah!" Suzuki spoke up, tapping her finger knowingly against the side of her head knowingly, "I see what you mean now! We just need placeholders, like Alison!"

"What did you just say, you punk trash?" She shot back sharply, slamming her hands against the table.

"One… Minus One..."

This unlikely interruption was courtesy of the usually quiet Mathematics Star: Kana Odayaka. She had just a tad bit of homework to do, but the aloud murmuring of such a simplistic question often left people stumped at how she could ever _tutor_ anyone in math. She seemed, however, to always get the job done.

"It's zero," Suzuki dully piped up, receiving only a brief nod from Kana, "Thank you..."

" **If I could have your attention…** _ **once more.**_ " Oh, right. That little problem hadn't been solved. Luckily, the dark undertone to Rina's polite words temporarily settled the quarrel between Suzuki and Alison. Whence the room had fallen back into attention, she peered up again, "We are looking for two new members… Right now..? No more no less. "

"Where are we supposed to oh-so-luckily find two students that haven't heard of our dying reputation?" Suzuki inquired thoughtfully. She rested her hands lightly against the guitar that was sprawled across her lap, her cheek swelling into a considering pocket.

* * *

"So I was looking at the map of the school..." Began the young girl. She seemed to be talking to a friend whilst waving around the little crumpled map between her hands, "But then I still got lost." She sported her brown hair in a preferable half-up style, with a little ponytail amongst the hair she left free. And despite describing potentially the worst thing that had happened to her, she still smiled almost absent-mindedly, "So I asked some students that were hanging around."

"With _your_ broken a-s-s Japanese?" This came from the accompanying friend, who despite the first girl having been slightly accustomed to the layout of the school, seemed completely marveled by the complex layout and differing set up.

"Oh, it was confusing, yeah… I got misdirected so much..." The brown haired girl ran her hand through her hair exasperatedly at the thought, but then immediately shifted her comical rage to the dark haired girl at her side, "TOYIN! YOU CAN NEVER BE OUT FROM SCHOOL AGAIN!"

"What!?" Toyin narrowed her eyes sharply, gripping the straps of her backpack tighter whilst huffing, " _Normally_ I wouldn't dream about it! But there's really nothing I can do about having Bronchitis!"

"Oh, Elle, look at me. I'm full of reasons why I'm drowning in foreign sicknesses…" Following that, the brunette uttered a couple of haphazard, baby-sounding coughs; though, unfortunately, as karma would have it, she began having an actual coughing fit.

"That's what you get."

Ignoring -for the most part- the multitude of odd and various stares they received, the two girls continued to talk on in secrecy with their use of English.

Just about a week and a half ago, the two long-time friends had found themselves gifted with the incredible offer to study abroad during their high school career. It was, of course, a scary thought, for one to pick up and move from all they knew in America, but the excitement of accomplishing something of such magnitude as a duo made the experience seem much less daunting.

Unfortunately, as one would have it when traveling from place to place, Toyin came down with a nasty case of Bronchitis upon arrival, causing her to miss the first week of school. Elle, on the other hand, was pitifully equipped to handle it on her own, due to her struggling Japanese skills, terrible sense of direction, and even more awful sense of naivety.

Since the duo was now back together, they were able to lend one another the necessary assistance to survive school.

"So, did you meet any new friends?" Toyin inquired, though her expression then fell after a moment, as her eyes shifted elsewhere, "That was probably a stupid question."

"Actually… aside from a couple of people in my history class, I didn't get much of a chance to mingle like I'd wanted..." Elle's finger gently tapped her own chin, "Probably on account of the fact I got lost and wound up late so much… And everyone's always so quiet in class."

"You're supposed to be," The bespectacled girl spoke up. She peered over to her less-culturally-savvy friend, tipping her head to the side, "It's an education difference. They want you to listen up and take notes."

"But that sounds so… impersonal..."

"Excuse me."

At the sudden interruption, the two girls directed their attention upwards. They were greeted with a girl that seemed around their age. She was adorned in the school uniform – a navy and green plaid skirt, white button up, and navy bow tie-, and seemed to carry her long black hair in a pinned up style with a crystal-like orchid pin.

 _'She's… so pretty…'_ Toyin thought quietly to herself. She could feel her eyes widen slightly at first glance, but after her facial expression settled some, her brow furrowed ever-so-slightly. She took a single step back, lowering her eyes instinctively to avoid eye-contact.

Elle, on the other hand, merely perked up, naturally feeling herself smile at the newly found introduction. Now if only she could get her Japanese right, "Yes? Can we get you anything?"

The girl seemed to chuckle lightly from behind the back of her hand, "In a way… My name is Sasayaki Hanabira… And I was wondering if I could interest you two a spot in my club."

"Su-"

" _Um._ " Immediately cutting off Elle's mindless attempt to simply agree, Toyin seemed to glower at her companion. She was aware that Elle was often one that left a lot to be desired on the terms of rationally thinking. But to honestly join a club without even asking the bare minimum? She had _better_ have been reconsidering her enthusiasm.

Elle paused, having assessed the glower she received, and instead, she spoke up with a more acceptable response, "What kind of club is it?"

Toyin, after initially getting over the terrible fluency she held, nodded in approval. Inquiring was how to avoid doing something stupid off of a simple whim -which was something she found Elle did often.

"We're a tutoring club," Despite Sasayaki's awfully calm expression ,something within her dark eyes seemed to be set aglow by the answer at hand. Was… she getting persuasive..? Or simply fired up? "We mend and mold the precious minds of our students in need, one session at a time!"

Ahhh, so that was where the appeal stopped. Toyin motioned to raise her hand, as though to opt out of this, but before she knew it…

"That sounds so good! I'll join!"

Crap. And there went her way out. How on Earth was she supposed to this now..? She opened her mouth as if wishing to reject the offer, but… she soon fell into a state of inability, dropping her head and sighing quietly, "Yeah..."

"Excellent!" Sasayaki lightly clapped her hands together in a joyful disposition, "I'll show you to our meeting room after school. Please meet me back here."

Whence the young girl had disappeared into the school building, Elle turned to Toyin, a huge smile on her face, "She seems so nice!" The brunette chirped, however received a punch to the shoulder as a reply, "You're an idiot!"

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I prefer to look at it kind of like a long prologue, but I have high hopes for this... It's just such a slow starter. Like Gawsh. Slower starter than Regigigas.**

 **ANYWHO. CYA LATER, SNOWFLAKES~ :3**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hulloooo! Everybody!**

 **This is a quick disclaimer on my terrible knowledge of Japan. :D Kuroko no Basuke seems to heavily delve into Japanese culture, or at least a lot more than some other anime. ;A;**

 **So yeah, when it comes to honorifics, I'm not really good with that, so I plan to leave most of them out... 'Cept Kise's, 'cause I can't really... Cause... You know... his honorifics become part of their names.**

 **ANYWHO LEGGO, SNOWFLAKES**

As one would expect when entering a tutoring club, Elle and Toyin were assured that they would be seeing the bare necessities. Desks. Chairs. Blackboards, or dry erase boards, books.. SOMETHING?

No…

Eerily enough, upon entering the room, the two newcomers were greeted with a single round table amongst the dark -barely lit from the light that filtered through the windows. Several unseen faces were seated around it, each with a shadow cast over them.

Toyin shook her head, mentally jumbling together one word so many times that it was beginning to lose its meaning ' _NopeNopeNopeNopeNopeNopeNopeNope'_. She lowered her voice, speaking strictly in English as she relayed a little message to her airheaded friend, "If we make it out of this alive, I'm _going_ to kill you."

"If we make it out of this alive, that means we were probably never in danger!"

" _Please._ "

Their attention was drawn to one of the shadows amongst the dark; the only notable or differentiating trait being a piercing jade eye that permeated the darkness, " _Have a seat._ "

They looked down to the end of the table, immediately bearing notice to the fact that there were two chairs at the end of the table. In fact, they took it a step further. One of them was seated a little shorter than the other, so that both Toyin and Elle, upon sitting, would be measuring around the same height.

The two simultaneously shivered as they bore notice to that seemingly overlooked detail, ' _Did they measure us?!'_

They eased over, taking a seat as asked, but one could only see the way they looked upon the table as though they were feverishly awaiting something from a horror movie.

There was a light squeaking sound that resembled an unoiled door hinge. Before long, a dim light came to be from a tiny oil lantern seated upon the tabletop. The faces of the women seated at the table began to come slightly lit by the dim illumination.

"We're glad you could make it..." The jade-eyed girl turned her head, adjusting herself to sit straight and postural, "Now, that you've signed up for our club… You've inadvertently signed a contract stating that you will never leave our club." She raised a little yellow and pink paper that had been stapled to the white paper on top.

Another round of shivers flew up the two new members' spines, their eyes growing wide and white with shock and disapproval, ' _THEY TRICKED US!?'_

"...So now let's get down to the first order of business."

"What? I mean.. That seems a little extreme, right?" Elle spoke up, furrowing a brow. That seemed almost… ominous.

"...No. anyway..." Whence Elle had basically quieted down, the assumed leader spoke again, "My name is Rina Mai. I'm the Physics Star of this tutoring club. If you want to know anyone else, and /or their specialties.. Please see the conveniently placed name tags in front of them."

Just as convenient as she said! They were bright golden namet- ..No.. They were deceptively expensive-looking paper nametags in golden foil coverings.

History… Mathematics… Art... Music… Sasayaki, Kana, Ume, Kameyo... and so many more.

"Ahh! So then do we need a thing that we're good at too?" Elle inquired. The idea was beginning to sound more appealing. A 'Star' title based on your academic strength! It added a certain… cool factor to-

"No." Rina closed her eyes, lowering her head slightly, "We're moving on from being a tutoring club."

This caused an eruption, not only from the two new members, but from the existing members as well. It seems this was a situation that Rina had taken care to bring to all of their attention when the club became fully assembled. So she was the one calling the shots then.

Toyin's eyes narrowed slightly. So they had been brought aboard to a club that wasn't even offering what they said they would? That not only sounded shady, but she was sure it was practically illegal. False Advertising!

"Because of our previous success as a tutoring club… Our efforts have been adapted by several other congregations of students throughout Ozuki High..." She trailed off in her speech, her eyes gaining a more analytic sense to them. Her hand actually reached out, her fingers brushing against the nametag of Kameyo so that it would be better aligned to the rest. "They… blatantly offered more… _aesthetically pleasing_ bonuses to their academic aid… and before long, our popularity had since plummeted. That is why… I believe we should start attempting a new formation. Something… different."

"So we're getting to see this through from the beginning..." Elle turned her head quickly, brown eyes practically sparkling with enthusiasm.

Though she was brimming exceptionally with excitement, it wasn't as well received by Toyin, who was far more skeptical about the whole ordeal. As though the two were communicating through some sort of telepathic sense, the irritable brow twitch that came from Toyin resulted in a faltered expression of disappointment from Elle, and then once more led to Toyin swiftly turning her head away.

"What else do you intend to do?" Alison spoke up. She settled her chin lazily against the top of her hand, examining the nails on her opposite hand.

"Something that will get us recognized," The Rina replied, "But what that means… I'll leave completely up to you."

Suzuki immediately sat up in her chair, leaning further on the table with a slight smirk, "So we're breaking away from the crowd then... Let's do something daring!"

Kameyo, though she normally kept quiet, eased forward carefully. Her hand raised, taking the attention in the room. Though she kept her blue eyes elsewhere out of fear for being judged, she spoke with an air of reluctance, "If everyone's been doing academics… Maybe we should do athletics?"

"OH. No." Alison waved her hands dismissively. "Absolutely not. I don't exert myself."

"I mean… maybe like a support club!" Kameyo quickly assured, "We would be helping another up and coming team… I mean..." She twitched her faintly formed fist in towards her cheek hesitantly, "Maybe the..." She was thinking the American Football team … The rugged strength of the members… the full-on contact display of determined men on both sides of the fields with the full intention of striking the other down. Her hands settled against her cheeks and a steady pink tint against her cheeks formed whilst she found herself lost in a daydream.

"The basketball team!" Alison immediately spoke up. Her eyes glimmered with sparkles, "Tall, attractive players in shorts and tanktops… What is there to hate?"

"I actually meant..." Kameyo trailed, but by this point everyone seemed to be decently in agreement. Her expression drooped ever so slightly… Her dreams and aspirations would have to wait for another day or…-

"A basketball team?" Elle piped up, tipping her head curiously. Surely, she hadn't explored the entire campus but… she didn't remember seeing anything like that.

"We _have_ a basketball team?" Suzuki spoke up. She most-often paid attention to the more violent sports… but she had checked into basketball some time ago, she could have sworn… "Ozuki High's killer in rugby, but I don't think I ever heard of them having a basketball team."

"They do!" Kameyo spoke up. She quickly raised up her bag, digging through to pull out a small folder. It was a manilla folder with a 'basketball' tab. Her finger flicked open the top, showing several headshots of their current team, former members, and other things of the like, "But they have an absolutely terrible record…"

Toyin leaned her chin in her hand, furrowing a brow in thought. She had basically been forced to this team, and now was stuck with it… But the idea of supporting a dead-end team couldn't have possibly felt fulfilling to them, right?

"I heard they were trying to rebuild the team for the season this year… but they're not receiving any funding from the school..." Kameyo continued quietly.

Elle tipped her head, furrowing a brow. She was new, so maybe she wouldn't quite understand what they already were aware of but… "Why would they accept them as a club and team, then leave them alone for the monetary stuff?"

"Because..." Kameyo seemed troubled. Her expression became much deeper and more complex as her thoughts pried further into what she knew, "Teiko Middle School."

Toyin's eyes lifted with slight interest. It may have been the vague answer… but that didn't make much sense to her. Why would a high school basketball team have to worry about a middle school?

The pink haired sports expert huffed lightly, "Teiko Middle School was the high-end middle school that housed some of this generation's most amazing basketball players. They had several strings of players, but their first strings were incredibly powerful at several aspects in the game… So much so that they were named _The Generation of Miracles._ " She uttered a soft sigh, "This year, their members have graduated from Teiko and have gone on to play for their own High Schools, meaning that there're most likely going to be several teams that are..well… absolutely killer in strength. If Ozuki High couldn't defeat anyone before… the school thinks it would be pointless to award them more money to waste."

"Generation of Miracles..." Akira quietly murmured to herself. Her hand began to absent-mindedly toy with the 'History' tab in front of her whilst her golden colored eyes focused upon the light space of the table, "I've heard of them before. They led Teiko to three consecutive national championships… never accepted defeat, and crushed several spirits along the way."

Suzuki reached her hand up and back, leaning her elbows against the back of her chair lazily, "So, what're we avoiding the basketball team then?"

"No..." Rina slowly eased her head up, settling her hands onto the table in deep thought of the topic at hand, "We're specifically supporting the basketball team."

"Come again?" Alison piped up, tipping her head sharply to raise a brow. Her blue eyes were filled with negative skepticism and displeasure.

"Basketball is… increasingly popular, especially around this time a year..." She narrowed her dark green eyes thoughtfully, "The students have flocked to academics, and they've become even _more_ popular… So what do we do to gain attention within ourselves and sway the school from our competitors… Than to revive their love of athletics with their precious basketball team?"

Kana peered up from her mathematics journal, blinking a few times in a dully blank sense. She had basically zoned out through the entirety of this conversation, but the sinister aura that was pouring from Rina left her tipping her head, bewildered. "Your… emotional."

"No, Kana," Suzuki blatantly interjected, easing away from the frighteningly intense physics star,"We call that ' _scary as Hell'!_ "

"Is it..." Kana began, pressing her finger against her lip, "not the same..?"

So that was the game plan then… To support the struggling Ozuki High basketball team… What an adventure this was turning out to be.

 **A/N: :D Here we go now! Still a slow-burner, but we're getting the picture! We gotta get things going-going-going which we will-will-will in time~!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: ELLOOOOOO, my dear snowflakes.**

 **I'm poppin' up for this chapter of We Are Stars! Within the next few chapters, I may start propping up a little poll to get you guys more interactive! For now; Let's see what these girls've gotten themselves into.**

It was the next day after school, right outside of the Ozuki gym, just as planned.

"Brace yourselves..." Rina began. She raised her hand and placed it solemnly against the door to the gym, then slowly peered over her shoulder to the girls that had accompanied her. Warily eying them "This… will not be pretty."

As the doors came flinging open, there seemed to be a vision that alluded to the light shining from the end of the tunnel… but no. If one could put a color to the mood that the gym exuded, it was comparable to… gray. Just… Gray.

They were bouncing basketballs around, several on the court at once, just dragging themselves around the court on lagging legs. Several balls bounced out of play, no one seemed to be able to run faster than one step per minute, and the only thing more plentiful than the number of dead or tired eyes were the number of basketballs that missed the net.

"Oh my..." Sasayaki trailed softly, covering her mouth.

"This… Is..." Rina shook her head, paling a ghostly white. She didn't even know much about the sport, but she knew enough to know that this was absolutely wrong, "...Worse than I ever imagined..."

The playing males, if… one could call them that… were so shaky and apathetic in their approach. It left so much to be desired that one would imagine Kameyo was cringing as though her very soul was shattering within her body. In fact, the little strawberry-haired girl toppled over onto the floor, a little white ghosty with pigtails raising up all wriggly-like from her mouth.

"Hm…?" The brown haired male glanced up for a moment, turning his brown eyes to the entrance of the door. He lifted the ball slowly, keeping it tucked in towards his chest softly, "What… are they doing here..?"

Another boy, carrying shaggier, red-tinted black hair poked him. He seemed be taller than the former boy by a slight bit, and the coil of his lips and sharpness of his irises depicted a more wild personality. Through a close-lipped smirk, he seemed to chuckle, "Maybe it's cheerleading practice heh, Eiji?"

The previous brunette's eyes drooped in disinterest, "Then why would they be coming to see us..?"

"Excuse me..." Rina spoke up, stepping forward and slowly folding her arms at her lower back. Of course, as if it wasn't even a question, the multitude of present males turned their head up to face the black haired girl that spoke. "Which one of you is in charge of this club?"

They looked around at one another as though they were lost; each one was looking for someone that would take the leadership role in this situation, but no one stepped up. Well, until one little opportunist decided to take to the stand. The reddish black haired boy with the slitted eyes.

"That'd be me," He began. His entire being seemed to exude some sort of arrogance that resonated clear through the little smirk on his face, "Ryuu Kondo. If you're asking permission to be our cheerleaders… Then I suppose we can let it be."

Most of the girls, by this point, seemed to carry mixed reactions; though for the most part, confusion or disbelief rang through.

Toyin's brow quirked, and she could feel her chin raise slightly with a clear look of distaste. Quietly, she uttered something to herself prior to briskly rolling her eyes. What an arrogant prick…

"Oh..." Rina peered down for a moment, then looked up at him. Keeping her most expressionless look unchangingly, she opened her mouth and uttered a simple phrase: "You're a fool."

The congregation of males that now spectated, buried their heads into their arms, or turned their back out of respect, but in all truth, they were attempting to stifle their inwardly roaring laughter.

"What _do_ you want anyway?" Ryuu now scoffed, narrowing his eyes as he drove them into his sweater pockets.

"We wish… to make a proposal."

"Oh?" A dark brown haired male from the rear-end now began to make his way to the front. The most distinctive thing about him – as they for the most part seemed to be wearing their uniforms- seemed to be the pair of dingy green-grey goggles he wore upon his head. The good news, however, was that he seemed to have much more of an even temperament than the riled up Ryuu. "What kind of proposal?"

"Please.. just give us a moment to explain..."

* * *

"Turning this trash heap into a team?" Ryuu took his seat now, raising his leg to rest his elbow on it, "Now you must really be pulling our leg."

The gym had begun to clear out. All of those that weren't interested in the ideal at hand had basically vacated; many at the idea of playing in a league alone were spooked. While this left them with only the members that would avidly push for a place to support the club… It _unfortunately_ left them with only a very healthy selection… of three people.

"Can he stop talking?" Alison spoke up, thumbing to the male with a disapproving scowl, "He never has anything important to say anyway."

"Could you put a muzzle on your dog?" Ryuu shot back quickly, leaning forward in a type of arrogant sneer.

Oh it was clear that these two would be at each others' throats, but for the good of the plan, and for the good of both clubs, they would have no choice but to settle their differences.

"Of course, after we've kickstarted you to a place of change, we will return to our own clubs to profit off of our own gain," Rina clarified solemnly. It had been the plan from the beginning, so there was no sense in hiding a clear partnership. If they would participate together, they would be well-aware of one another and their goals as it related to their mutual profit.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," the goggle-wearing boy -whom they had learned was called Kyo Takemura- replied.

"Good. So long as we're clea-"

"Blah Blah, I see your lips movin' but all that's coming out is bullshi-"

"You'd better listen here, you sexist, weird-eyed weirdo!"

Ryuu and Alison. As if they couldn't keep themselves under control amongst themselves, they were becoming even more of a hindrance when they were together.

"QUIET DOWN ALREADY!"

Rina had been ready to open her mouth… of course her approach would have been far more subtle and collected, but her words were immediately taken by the seemingly meek male that did little to even insinuate he would be opening his mouth. Eiji Fugunaga.

"But she/he-" As though like a couple of ill-behaved children, they moved to shift the blame upon one another, only to have their claims shut down by the bold aura emanating from the serious male's face.

"I'm sorry…" Returning to a meek stature, slightly slumping as though to lower the general view of his height, Eiji returned to sitting, "You… were saying..?"

"Well… The first thing would most-likely be to separate people into positions that they could handle particularly well. You, as a team, and we, as a staff." Rina motioned her hand forward. Her jade eyes were set specifically upon Eiji, "And I believe, I just found the captain."

"Wh-What? Me? No no..." He waved his hands dismissively, beads of sweat precariously lining his cheeks in a most awkward sense, "I-I'm not really suited for basketball as is… so being on the team is already a stretch, but..." His lips coiled up, a smile brimming and twitching at the corner of his lips, "It's just ridiculous to say that I would be suited to be the captain… just ask the guys."

"He's cool," Ryuu spoke up, leading into a nod from Kyo, who responded nearly the same, "Yeah, he's got a good head on his shoulders."

Kana slowly raised her finger, having turned her head up to spectate quietly, "That doesn't sound very… disagreeing..."

"Mmnh," Eiji peered over his shoulder, glaring daggers at the two male whom had failed to realize his plea for help and support, "That's because these two _idiots_ don't know how to take a hint!"

"It sounds settled then..." Rina hung off her words a bit. She had written all of this information down -of course after using a textbook to line up a straight and even graph on her paper, "But three members and a staff… does not a team make..."

Sasayaki, quietly raising her hand, tipped her head to the side, "Why do we not hold tryouts?" A joyfully smile came to her just then, "I would imagine I could design some quite enticing posters."

"But what about the uniforms and junk?" Ryuu leaned his cheek against his hand, turning to peer up in thought, "We don't have any funding from the school, so it's not like we can buy anything..."

"Mm..." Ume, whom had been wrapped in silence for quite some time, raised her hand slowly, "I… I think I could.. do something.. m-maybe… Please don't… don't put too much faith into me..." Her cheeks burned at the idea of taking initiative, but she was aware that her skill of stitching would not go far unnoticed after the little phone-holders she made for the club not too long ago.

"That'll take ages!" Kyo furrowed a brow, seemingly concerned. Immediately, scooping up Ume's hands, he peered to Rina with horror and shock casting heavy influence across his face, "You wouldn't let her ruin her hands that way, would you?" Luckily, he seemed not to bear notice to young girl whose cheeks were burning a dark red.

"We have time before the season officially starts… She could be able to do it and take healthy breaks in between," Rina dismissively assured.

"Why not find a way to raise money?" Elle spoke up, "I mean, sure you could have her make them from hand, but it probably wouldn't be as cheap as ordering them in bulk… So instead of going right in, hit the source and try taking in a good chunk of money?"

Kana peered up blankly, rubbing at her chin in thought as her violet eyes took a nice gander at the ceiling above. Immediately, however, she went back to writing in a journal, as she most-often found herself doing.

"Selling crafts, perhaps?" Sasayaki began, a loving expression coming to her face, "It sounds heavenly..."

"If you sold us at an auction maybe," Ryuu's most overconfident remark seemed to be severed by his usual new-found rival.

"Maybe we'd be lucky and make a penny," Alison huffed haughtily, rolling her eyes at such a daring plea to be put on a pedestal. Well, surely, she would have said something similar, if not exact to that sentiment, she only found it to be endearing or acceptable when she did it.

"You could always have a bake-sale."

"Yes..." Rina thought, turning her head, "Excellent idea, Kameyo."

However, when she turned her head, she found Kameyo, waving her hands defensively to support the notion that she had yet to say anything, let alone give the suggestion.

The voice was a little high pitched one… Of everyone in the club… Only Kameyo would be capable of sounding that way… Maybe Ume, but she hadn't the slightest bit of confidence that could resound like that. Rina's eyes shifted to the boys, all of which pointed off to the right, where Rina then gathered her attention.

A little peach haired girl, all seated comfortably atop the cart of basketballs, with one leg crossed neatly over the other, "...'Sup."

Whilst the room basically spiraled into questions of when this girl entered -being no one seemed to have seen her, or even noticed her get so close, Rina merely inquired. "Why a bake sale..?"

"It's cheap, easy, and high school students love sweets." The new girl briskly replied. In fact, speaking of sweets, she seemed to be dancing a lollipop around her taste buds as they spoke, "Besides… Even if you don't make quota, you'd still have more money than you started with, yeah?"

Contemplation filled the room… They had options… and that was good… But right now, a bake sale seemed to be the most promising.

 _Clap Clap Clap_

Sasayaki raised her hands, joyfully tapping them together at the palms, "I will make posters to advertise the event!"

"What is her deal with posters!?"

"Ryuu just..." Kyo raised his hand, fastening it over the rowdy male's mouth, "Just let her be."

"In the meantime," Rina spoke up, pulling what she wrote to her closer, "I'll be taking careful consideration of the positioning of our staff." She peered over to the sweets-eating girl, tipping her head in wonder, "Should I be accounting for you as well?"

"Mm?" The young girl raised a shoulder, tipping her head with a notably devious smirk -despite her innocent, child-like appearance- "Only if I… get to handle the money..."

It was… an ominous feeling that accompanied that. Surely, a treasurer that would work for no wages would be an excellent addition to handle their budgeting… but there was some sort of aura around this girl that bothered Rina. Her… attitude maybe. Her devious nature… Something that…-

"700 dollars."

The group peered back, looking to Kana whom had finally gazed up from writing in her journal.

"At minimum, calculating the lowest prices for uniforms… We would still possibly need a total of approximately 700 dollars… For a very rough estimate, that is..."

"Ah yes..." Sasayaki trailed endearingly, "I'll need to bake very many sweets..."

"Fine then… With that in mind, I'll spend the time of the bake sale planning out the majority of our configuration..." Rina assured, nodding her head firmly and beginning to turn away, "We'll meet up then..."

"You aren't gonna help with the bake sale?" Ryuu perked up, "What kind of shit is-"

"I."

He furrowed a brow, peering to Rina whilst leaning back, "You?"

A dark aura blazed around her, her sharp jade eyes watching the male as he motioned, "I'm not good with people. You have four letters in your name… So please don't make me dislike you."

"…" Even following the ordeal, the slit-eyed male still seemed terribly confused, "...What… does that… even mean…?"

 **A/N: Hallo again! Did you enjoy that, guys? :3 I'm itching to get into the gritty plot of this, but I gotta pace myself, I know. QAQ It's okay tho. Just stick with me and bear with it, hah? Thank you, my snowflake dearies! Be on the lookout for that poll!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here we go with Chapter Four! I'm ready and willing to go kill thisssss! I don't even know what I just said. But Yeah. I'm also terrible at writing basketball stuff.**

 **What am I even doing writing this fanfic?**

 **I can dream, can't I?**

 **Let me do me. LOL. Read and enjoy please, my snowflakes!**

"750 dollars exactly," Rina trailed, running her fingers through the money from the bake-sale. It was so fortunate.. Just what they needed, but also so even and precise. "Even if we spend the 700 that Kana insisted we would need, we would have 50 left over..." So clean-cut, so clean-cut..

"Actually," Kana began, peering down at her clipboard, "...We made 751.37 tota-"

Suzuki slipped her hand around Kana's mouth, firmly clenching the latter's mouth shut, "Just let it be, Kana..."

Rina's eyes had seem to peer up and falter at the actual total, her brow furrowing and even twitching once or twice, "So many… prime numbers..." She murmured softly, a shiver running up her spine, "So many _odd_ numbers..."

"Rina!" Sasayaki spoke up, endearingly clasping her own hands together beneath her chin, "Do tell me again… What are our expertly coordinated places of duty?"

Her jade eyes lowered to her columns and graphs, which she had completed configuration of during the time of the bake-sale, "I will handle organization and scheduling, Kameyo will assume the role as our coach, Sasayaki will supply the team with refreshments, Ume will mend broken equipment, Akira will locate previous footage of our opponents, Chinami..." Following that name, Rina turned her attention to the peach haired girl that was laxingly sitting back popping little bundles of cookie dough, "..Chinami will be our treasurer."

Suzuki raised her hand, slowly pointing down to herself, "Um. S'cuse me. What do you want _me_ to do?"

"…" Rina placed her hands together, rawly speaking without a shred of regret or softness, "You're best suited for morale."

…

…

"Sweet."

It should have been well-known that Suzuki wouldn't object to something so… relaxed, or perhaps better said as "right down her alley".

"So then… what are the duties of Alison, Elle, and Toyin?" Sasayaki spoke up, curiously shifting around the room to see where any of the three were currently.

After a moment of hesitance on Rina's part, she spoke simply: "...They're serving a purpose."

Out, in front of the gym, there was a small line of people that seemed to take interest in the basketball team's revitalization and recruitment. To the side of this line, however, near the sides of the door, the three girls in question were standing, each one laced over with an….admittedly well-crafted poster.

"This is insulting..." Alison grumbled, folding her arms whilst casually holding the poster between her fingers.

' _I don't like this…'_ Toyin trailed mentally, turning her head away in a sense of distaste.

"Join the basketball team!" Elle chirped loudly, shaking the poster violently around, "Ozuki High's basketball club is back in business! Come give it a trial! It's always in style!"

The blonde at the left frowned, her fingers running through her hair as she peered up to the ceiling, "You do know they're doing this because we're foreigners, right?"

"Hm?" Elle peered up to Alison, tipping her head to the side, "What do you mean by that..?"

Clearly someone hadn't been updated on the current state of affairs -or at least not at Ozuki High.

Alison's lips turned up into what one could call a crooked smile. Her finger tapped the edge of her lips, which had curled up at the sides, her eyebrow quirking challengingly, "New and different. Like a brand new toy. Rina is a dark mastermind. She set us out here to superficially drawl in men with our looks and bodies."

' _They're going to be disappointed.'_ Toyin looked down at herself for a moment, looking over her taller stature. She never really had much of a reservoir of confidence, one could say, and standing next to the other two here wasn't exactly helping her here. She could only imagine the type of reaction that would come bursting from the shorter brunette when she realized that she was being used as a human guy-magnet.

"...I'm sorry my Japanese is kind of bad. Could you repeat that?"

Toyin's could feel her glasses catch the light. She should have been ashamed of herself for expecting anything more, really. "She said..." She switched her preferred language to English, looking down to Elle whilst leaning on the wall with her arms folded, "They're using us as foreign guy magnets to bring in more people for the team."

"That's right!"

Elle and Toyin, floored by this point, nearly broke their necks after whipping their attention to Alison that quickly. She could speak...wait…

"Where.. did you say you were from again…?" Toyin's voice had notably grown quieter, and her eyes were still quite wide. She was hoping there was a mistake made somewhere in this conversation. She could get at least _that_ lucky, right? _Right?_

Running her fingers through her mid-back length hair once more, the blue-eyed girl tipped her head off to the left with a more proud expression coming into play, "London."

"Elle. Elle." Toyin's hand reached out and grabbed onto the shoulder of the brunette. Once clasping on there, she began to shake her, softer, then faster, then just plain violently, "Elle, she knows English. Elle. We can't use English anymore. Elle. What language _are_ we safe in?"

"Uh.. UH.. _UH._ " Panicking now, the brown eyed girl endured the spazztastic pulls and pushes that sent her rocking off balance, "UM."

"None. You're never safe." Alison piped up. The freak out was rather amusing to her, regardless of whether or not she was just playing with them by this point.

Toyin's eyes narrowed sharply as she stared into her companion's eyes, "In Spanish." She spoke up quickly in the given language.

Absent-mindedly, Elle shifted her head behind her, raising her hand to Alison. Like her friend had done before her, she spoke in Spanish, attempting to lure out a response, "Do you speak Spanish?"

Fortunately, the blonde merely tipped her head. The look of absolute confusion was so blatant on her face, one could have almost clearly seen the question mark that spouted above her head. "H..Hah?" She uttered softly, keeping an awkward smile in the process.

"Good! We will speak in this Spanish!" Elle looked to Toyin, nodding her head in approval.

"I know Spanish."

The two of them froze, their blood running cold. They looked up, seeing Chinami walk past casually, still popping cookie dough. She seemed to be going to catch a drink of water, but regardless, the two were now clutching one another hopelessly in lieu of the loss of their language barrier-based secrecy.

In the midst of their grief, Alison seemed to be taking her own approach to their dutiful attraction.

"If we can't get out of it..." She trailed, cutting off the extra of the poster, and fastening it across her upper mid-section and lower chest, "We may as well make the most of it." After doing such, she stepped forward, reaching her fingers back within her hair and slowly lifting them up above so that her golden locks would run over them in what one would call an attractive sense. Her hand slid down to settle on her outward crooked hip, and she made a beckoning motion with her hands, "Come join the basketball club~."

A multitude of the nearby males seemed to stop. While some continued, some annexed themselves to the line. Some, even bolder than the rest, let their field of vision trail down towards the remainder of her body, which of course led them to look at the poster strapped to her form… and as such, soon also added themselves to the line of prospects.

"Ahhh..."

Now shaking in horror, Elle and Toyin shook their heads.

"She's insane..." A single tear trailed down Elle's wide, white eyes.

"Now it's your turn, girls." She spoke up, now turning to peer over her shoulder at them. Her eyes almost seemed to ring out a certain sinister nature that sent further chills down the girls' spines.

"No, no..." Toyin had basically dropped Elle, taking a step back, "I… Don't..."

"Don't what?" Alison settled her hands against her own hips, tipping her head to peer down at Toyin approvingly. For a girl, Alison took pride in her height. She stood an impressive 5'9, which explained why she had seemed to take such an interest in the tall men that would appear on a basketball team. As far as she could tell, she and Toyin were around-about the same height. "You've got the height mm? But how will they flock to your body if you don't show it?"

"Um." Toyin's brow furrowed deeply, her finger raising up then. Who says she wanted to show it anyway? This girl was making a lot of assumptions… The dark haired girl's eyes trailed down to one deciding factor. Ahh, as she figu- Wait… Okay, Alison was admittedly not the girl she expected her to be in the area of… assets, one could say. "Yes, but..." She trailed, motioning her hand dismissively, "You're… pretty..."

"And you're not?" Alison scoffed, immediately grabbing the poster that Toyin had hanging around her neck.

"ELLE, HELP!"

Elle merely watched with large eyes, as though witnessing something scarring, whilst Toyin basically screamed for mercy.

"There!" Alison chirpily replied, stepping back to appraise the work she had done. "It's wound around… So to read it..." She twirled her finger through the air, smirking knowingly as she did so, "They'll have to get a full view."

Toyin was oozing discomfort, keeping her arms bent and hands curled in slightly towards her chest. "Ugh..." In fact, she kept a more bashfully disdainful expression, until it was completely overshadowed by disdain. Elle… Elle was laughing. Elle was laughing at her? Her look grew vengeful, her head tipping in brisk nods, "What about her? She's curvy."

Elle's laughter abruptly stopped, her face falling straight, "What?"

"She is," Alison began, rubbing at her chin in thought.

" _I'm not!_ " Elle quickly attempted to cover her tracks while easing away.

Without a moment's notice, the sound of screaming echoed through the hallways, parting the line of males to even ring through the gymnasium.

"It sounds like they're getting along," Suzuki quipped. She had leaned back against the stands of simple bleachers with her hands intertwined against the back of her head. The orange haired girl raised her head up in her clearly laid-back positioning, peering down to take a gander at the type of boys they had managed to attract.

In addition to their usual three -Eiji, Kyo, and Ryuu-, Kameyo seemed to be taking in the physical structure and capability of each male before her. She had seen them perform for the most part, and it was becoming easier to see which of them were better suited to the basketball club's needs. The pink haired girl had her attention on a select few, to be frank.

Minori. A second year student, it seemed, who carried already-decent ability in the field of speed and agility. His footwork was wondrous, but despite this great potential for offensively breaking up the court, he seemed to prefer defensive play.

Yuri. Another second year student that claimed he had been waiting for the basketball club to get serious. He favored up-close and personal assaults at the hoop, making majority of his close-ranged shots.

Yemon. His presence was probably just as terrifying as his ability to play. He stood at a staggering 6'4, and his physical structure greatly contributed to his strong defensive capabilities.

Goro. Though his strength wasn't clear, he seemed to be highly dedicated to the game. He had decent speed, but his height of 5'7 makes it a bit difficult to play his preferred area of defense.

Nori. He seemed to prefer to show off, which he makes possible with his outstanding accuracy. The problem? Well, he seemed to be so absorbed in garnering attention, that he would sink into his habitual use of trick-shots, which were notorious for their horrid accuracy.

Finally, Keiji. He would probably be their most useful player. He was a 3rd year, standing as their tallest player at 6'7. Not only that, but his physical structure was daunting. While he wasn't the fastest player, he typically made up for it with his crushing offensive and defensive style.

That would give them a total of nine players. To start, that was quite decent, and would give them the required five players, while offering a healthy string of substitutes just in case.

Kameyo nodded, thinking over the information she stored in her brain regarding physical ability of the body. It would take a lot of deduction, maybe even some trial and error, but she was sure she could more-than make do with the team that she was offered. A lot of them were capable, and luckily, in a lot of different areas of the game. Factoring in their preexisting players, she found that Ryuu found his strength in driving and shooting -though his foul count left a lot to be desired-, Eiji could be commended for his ability to hold onto the ball whence it was in his possession, and Kyo's long range accuracy was above average -though his ability to retain the ball could use some work.

The young girl nodded her head firmly, a smile on her face. There was no way they would be the best this season. For a team of developmental players going up against organized teams… It would take a miracle to make it particularly far.

 _Tap Tap Tap Tap_

"Ahh. Whoever has a basketball," Kameyo began, having mentally sworn she'd previously asked the try-outs to line up, "Please put it..."

A male was present, tapping the ball to the floor in a haphazard dribble, "I'm a little late." He pushed his fingers through his black hair, clearing the remaining patches of bangs from out in front of his ice-blue eyes, "But could I give this a shot?"

His presence held an intimidating feel about it. His right hand was lined with rings, and his ears were boldly accentuated with dagger-like earrings. He tipped his head to the side, lightly cracking his neck, then reached his hand up to peel the large, dark blue jacket from his form. It dropped to the floor, and even beneath that, he was well-dressed for the occasion in a dark sweatshirt.

Kameyo grew quiet, and in the same way, the rest of the room seemed to direct their attention to the newcomer. Even from the outside of the door, the three members of the advertisement crew were peering in around the doorframe.

"He's hot," Suzuki boldly proclaimed, earning a well-placed paper fan from Akira as the prize for her confidence.

Kameyo opened her mouth to speak, but had to take a moment to briskly nod, "Y-Yes. Go for it." Something about this gave her chills. But were they well-placed, or was she just being ridiculous?

"I don't wanna show off on my own," The male began, stowing his rings into his pockets, "Can you gimme somebody to play against?"

"Leave it to me," Ryuu spoke up. As always, he jumped at the opportunity to showcase his talent in front of a watching group. He stood affront the newcoming male, a stiff grin across his face, "Don't feel bad if you can't match up."

His dark haired opponent merely kept an even expression, continuing to casually dribble the ball at his right, "I don't think that'll be a problem."

Tension sparked between the two, growing heavier with each passing second which seemed to lag on even longer than usual. At that moment, however, the whistle was toted in a brief chirp, signaling the start of the demonstration.

Ryuu prided himself in his quick and aggressive play-style. Driving and stealing… That was all part of what he found to be a strength. However, as he reached out to swipe the ball with a downward striking palm, he found his target abruptly moved.

The black haired male, as even tempered as before play, had shifted the ball from his dominant right hand, to his left. It was taunting. Inviting even. Daring Ryuu to try reaching once more, and when he did, just as fast as before, he flicked it to his right. In fact, by now he flicked it between them quickly with the tips of his fingers. His ball control was excellent, and most importantly, efficient.

"Tsk," Stepping forward in an outstretched reach, Ryuu burst forward, growling distastefully. This time on the reach, his finger brushed against the ball. Even a small tap could change the course of the object. That should have been enough, right?

The blue eyed male shifted his feet. His intention had been to raise the ball, but being the tap drove it downwards, he shot his arm towards the floor. His hand then reclaimed its place, slamming the ball down at an angle.

It was an easy pick! Or at least it should have been, but as Ryuu reached down to claim the ball, he found it to be precariously directed to bounce between his legs, coming out behind him. By the time he had turned, the dark haired male was already driving his way to the hoop.

Though Ryuu pursued, he just couldn't keep up. But there was a hope for the slit-eyed male.

His opponent had slid to a stop upon coming toward the hoop. He must not have had a very fast release, either that, or didn't trust his accuracy enough to _try_ a fast release. It gave Ryuu the chance he was looking for to come in for a close reach, and perhaps even block the ball.

The ball had been released already. Even under Ryuu's approaching pressure, he had managed to release the ball…

It arched up, tottling down and catching only the net in its descent.

It was…

terribly embarrassing to say the least.

Ryuu wiped at his mouth, scowling as he quickly reeled around to storm away. He hated it.. being shamed like that. His overwhelming ego was better left unchecked by some stranger that had made their way into the gym, and late at that. He couldn't help but peer over his shoulder… His glare was clear, narrowed and sharp, and so it was only a question of…

"Am I in?"

Was this a developing hatred, or a blooming rivalry?

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this! The poll is up, by the way! Take some time to leave a vote -since it's up on my profile :3!**

 **Cya later, Snowflakes!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hullo, my dear Snowflakes. -w- Here is my little chapter update.. Hoohoo.. hue hue... For you. Because I love you. Much.**

"Sprint, sprint, sprint!"

Kameyo huffed the whistle in a couple of short bursts, overseeing the males as they began their treks. They were a few practices in, and things had been going rather well. Everyone seemed to be rather cooperative -for the most part-, and Ryuu and the dark haired boy -who was found to be named Hansha-, were luckily able to keep their dying relations in check.

"You," Rina began, pointing her pen in the direction of Toyin, "you'll be the medic."

"Me?" Toyin immediately shook her head, placing her hand against her chest s she did so, "No no… I don't know _anything_ about medical stuff."

"Well," Rina reasoned, an absolute expression taking root, "I trust you far more than I do any of the other remaining few."

"It's true," Elle piped up, nodding her head. Well, hey, she somehow knew that was was less than trustworthy at least, so it was a bonus that she was honest with herself, right?

"Mmhm," Alison nodded as well, in unison with Elle.

"Wait-" Toyin began, only for everything to start moving right along once more.

"You," Her pen rose to Alison then, "You will play the part of the Information Speciali-"

"No." Alison was quite straightforward then, motioning her hand over to take Elle's shoulders, "She's better fitted for that position than me."

Rina's brow raised, and Elle, in likewise bewilderment, rose her head to peer up at Alison.

"What makes me so qualified?" The brunette questioned curiously. Alison had seemed so adamant, it seemed only fair to ask why.

"I just have a feeling you would be better at this," Alison released her shoulders, placing her hands up upon her cheeks in the most dramatic fashion, "Besides… I would hate to say, but I've grown quite fond of my place as moral support."

Though in, for lack of a better word, extreme bemusement, Rina went ahead, documenting down the roles in which she had settled. "Fine then. As long as we're clear on what's to be done… Besides, we have a quite large staff, being the entirety of our club is involved… It's only suiting that we have a few stragglers."

"Break!" Kameyo's hand rose, signaling the end of the long-stretched out relay. Most, at the sound of the whistle, merely collapsed on the floor, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. If there was one thing that Kameyo had always been known for, it was her ability to physically destroy even the toughest athletes. In fact… she took pride in it. Sadistic? That was unclear, but she claimed that she adored pushing people past what they proclaimed to be their physical limits.

Yemon, heaving controlled heavy breaths, looked down towards his exhausted body with disgust. It was dripping perspiration and the tingly heavy feeling was beginning to set into his muscles. The lot of it just made him wrinkle his nose with disapproval.

"I quit… I quit..." Eiji sputtered. His limbs were shaking, clicking at the joints like a wooden puppet, "I was hasty.. I was… a fool..." He wheezed lightly, chest raising and slowly emptying the air from his shriveling lungs.

"Sh-Shut up, you marshmallow," Kyo croaked out, his body twisted in all sorts of terrible shapes and angles.

Hansha was leaning slightly forward. His arm was laced over his knee, hanging there as he calmly attempting to steady his breathing. Catching sight of this, however, Ryuu pushed himself to a sitting position, attempting to do the same, without the ragged and loud inhales and exhales he had successively taken prior.

For a brief moment, the two made eye-contact, and though Ryuu attempted to initiate a stare down of sorts, Hansha merely acknowledged his presence for a brief moment, then turned his head swiftly away – a gesture that sparked Ryuu's fury.

"If we keep working this hard," Kameyo commented, turning her head to face Rina, "We may be able to work with your schedule after all!"

"Of course." Rina opened a small planner, which had something documented nearly every day of the week on the monthly calendar. When turning the page, there was a further, incredibly detailed schedule following the events of each day, down to the smallest necessity, "The schedule is absolute."

"Hn?" Suzuki lifted the schedule, peering down at it, then turning her head to the side slightly, "But what if I don't have to piss at 4:22?"

Rina blankly let her finger close the calendar after slipping a small ribbon bookmark between the relevant pages, "You will."

"It's about that time," Akira began. She gathered her belongings into her bag, raising the strap over her shoulder whilst stepping down from the bleachers.

"Hmmn?" Suzuki looked up now from her laxed lying position, "A little bathroom talk scare you off, princess?"

Though Akira was now gripping her paper fan closely, she refrained from using it and instead merely shook her head, "The upperclassmen are being gathered for a meeting. Nothing to worry your unintelligible little head about." The golden eyed girl then took her time making her way out, followed by a few of the upperclassmen team members.

"Mm… I'd rather everyone get all fit and fighting-ready together..." Kameyo seemed to whine under her breath, but lifting her hand to wave to the as-of-yet still nearly incapacitated team, she offered them some of the greatest news they had heard in a while, "We're done for the day!"

"Poor kids," Keiji was peering over his shoulder whilst leaving the gym, laughing heartily at their misfortune.

Akira only shook her head, hearing the sound of their bodies dropping to the ground in full resignation. Her eye, however, having been in the process of rolling, fell upon something rather interesting -or so she felt. Her brow furrowed slightly, and pausing at the door way, she looked through the window. Had their always been a bush by the window..? Yes… Yes there had. Had it always had a pair of eyes and a nose? No… not that she could recall.

Minori, now in the process of letting his hair aloose after that intense practice, peered his head over to Akira, motioning for her to continue forward, "You'll be late..."

Though it took a moment for her to tear her eyes away from the peculiar sighting, she allowed herself to be swayed to continue, "Right..."

"Hey," Ryuu began, words still just slightly shaky from their previous routine, "What's your deal?" This comment was, of course, directed to none other than Hansha.

The target of this comment, Hansha, merely peered over, his teeth resting firmly against the opening of his water bottle. Though he didn't respond any differently, turning his head was enough to show Ryuu that he had at least acknowledged him.

"You always leave ten minutes early during practice," He replied, narrowing his red eyes to the tune of a more challenging tone, "This isn't serious enough for you spend time on or something?"

"Did I say that?" Hansha turned away, finally getting the chance to have some of the water he had been stalling on drinking. He peered back to Ryuu, eyes narrowing in the same manner, though his expression was clearly exuding a more collected and calm feel, "In rare cases, people actually have a life outside of school." His blue eyes briskly rolled, then shifted to take up view elsewhere, "Try not to seem too surprised."

"You know, I'm getting really sick of you..."

"Funny. All I've ever done to you is prove I'm better…"

Tempers set ablaze, the two were once more surrounded by that dark and uninviting tension that thickened the mood of the room.

"How's that for team morale," Alison hummed, leaning back with the light 'tsk'ing sound of disappointment.

"Shit," Suzuki piped up in response, shaking her head in seemingly the same way.

"Yes. Very much so..." Rina turned her head, peering over her shoulder to look to Suzuki, "Why are you not doing your job?"

The latter sat up abruptly, eyes wide with displeasure, "EXCUSE ME?!"

"No no!" Kameyo assured, waving her hands affront the two to try quelling their problematic quarreling, "This is perfect!"

"Come again?" Suzuki's brow quirked, though she began to lean back into a more comfortable positioning once more.

"This isn't a matter of hate," The pink haired girl began, gripping her whistle endearingly within her fist, "This is an athlete's quarrel..." A subtle smile came to her face, her head nodding in approval as she began to explain, "The two of them have come to a stalemate on their places on the court. Their hostility towards each other serves as motivation for one to try becoming better than the other… Though it may seem bad now.. A rivalry is a wonderful thing to have in sports."

"I see it..." Ume spoke up. Her dark colored gaze was directed across the way at the two teammates that were now continuing their sharp glares, now while standing, "Just… Just one second ago.. They were so tired...B-But…" Now Ryuu had a ball in his hand, and he seemed completely affirmed to the idea of playing one on one.

"What a shame..."

This voice… was new. Those within the room were now directing their attention to its source.

Despite them all matching in beige sports jackets -the three of them that had shown up-, they appeared to look more like shady cronies than high school students. The one that spoke, as one would guess, was standing at the front of the group, his hands driven into his pockets with a twisted grin on his face, "We came to see this 'revived' basketball team everybody's been talking about… But it still looks like the same raggedy club as before..."

From the sidelines, raising a single hand, Elle peered up, "...My Japanese is bad, could you repeat that?"

"Mm-mm! Mm-mm!" The whole time Toyin had been verbally protesting towards Elle's actions and speech, shaking her head, but of course, the brunette never really got her signs. Toyin's hand slapped against her own face, dragging down slowly.

Sasayaki slowly bundled her her enclosed fist lightly against her chin, frowning slightly, "It looks like they're hostile."

" _What.._?"

As though simultaneously, Hansha and Ryuu turned their heads. They both seemed to dislike the idea of being talked down to. They both seemed to feel their skin crawl when the nagging feeling of aggressive behavior reared its ugly head. And they both seemed to sorely dislike the feeling of having a prior engagement interrupted.

"Easy… Easy..." The male began, arrogantly and laced with sarcasm, of course. He started to step forward, motioning his hand haphazardly, "We don't want anyone doing something they'll regret."

Kyo couldn't help but grin, the, attempting to smother his laughter with his arm, "Too late.. keheheh…"

"Why..." Rina was reaching from the stands, longingly using her hand to block out one of the members of the delinquent-like trio, "Why… Why three..?"

"Easy there, tiger," Suzuki huffed, hooking her arms around the jade-eyed girl's shoulders to keep her in place.

"Are we really going to play together?" Ryuu began, eyes sliding to the side skeptically whilst looking to Hansha. His lip was poked out in a slight sense of displeasure, awaiting a response.

Likewise, Hansha peered down his nose at the boy -despite Ryuu being taller-, then folded his arms briskly, "Try not to slow me down."

"I couldn't ask for a better set up," Kameyo chimed, her body basically behaving much like a squiggling noodle whilst her cheeks filtered a deep pink.

"Wait.. _You set this up_!?" The peanut gallery's jaws seemed to hit the floor, but of course in response, the pink haired coach seemed distressed by such a claim.

"What..? No no… I'd never..!"

They fought valiantly… Ryuu and Hansha…

And they came out on top, of course! That other team, they seemed like they were running for their lives! Scrambling across the floor frantically while trying to leave. It was a pitiful sight. They nearly lost their jackets.

"What… What the Hell was that?" Ryuu scoffed, folding his arms, "They sucked!"

Hansha nodded firmly, drawing his hand against his dripping mouth after guzzling water, then looking up, "Hmnn… What high school were they even from?"

Kameyo sat up all bubbly-like, tipping her head to the side and bouncing up onto her toes, "Ozuki High!"

Ryuu nodded his head sharply, grinning like a fool, "Ozuki High sucks!"

Suzuki, piping up from the peanut gallery, raised her hand, "I'll say!"

Meanwhile majority of said peanut gallery was stifling the fact that it was cracking its sides out of amusement for their conjoined stupidity.

"Wait..."

Hansha's dull expression rang through in the midst of his glance turning disappointedly to Ryuu, "Come on now… Don't think about it _too_ hard. I'm allergic to smoke."

"Shut up, Hanshit," Always one to get worked up, Ryuu was rebelliously spouting his distasteful words to a most apathetic Hansha.

Kyo peered over, still in the process of trying not to snicker. His arms felt heavy and tired, and after playing that game, even more so… Even if it wasn't so-much a workout. "Why were we playing Ozuki High, though? Don't tell me you put the upperclassmen up to it..."

"No no," Kameyo waved her hands, then crossed them lightly behind her back while crooking her hip innocently to the side, "They really did have a meeting… But I managed to buy in some extra help from the drama club!"

"So that's why they ran out screaming _'keep your money'_..." Hansha tapped his chin, thinking about the ordeal.

"Twenty five dollars was cheap!" Kameyo assured.

Ryuu and Kyo both rose their heads in fury, teeth seeming to grow sharp out of the initial idea they had fathomed, " _ **IT HAD BETTER NOT BE OUR FUNDRAISER MONEY!**_ "

"Mmph!" The little coach covered her mouth for a moment, stunned and shrinking from their combined wrath.

"Don't worry," Chinami passively waved them off, "I keep all the money in check." She popped a caramel twist into her mouth, never tearing her eyes away from her phone.

"We should move on to more important factors," Kameyo assured, only to have their club leader take over the sentence at hand.

"Like next week's practice game." Rina spoke up, peering up ever so slightly from her schedule.

"What school're we gonna crush?" Kyo seemed to be rushing with energy at the idea of finally getting to do something outside of the usual drills and fitness tests. He lifted his hand, running it back through his dark brown hair, "Anybody good? I'd want it to be harder than drills, if you know what I mean..."

Rina's jade eyes slowly peered up, no expression, as usual… "Meijo Academy."

 **A/N: Weeeeeeeeee~ This story is such a joy, really. I like writing it a lot. I get to make fun. -w- I hope you guys enjoy too! And *DIRECTS HANDS TO POLL ONCE MORE*!**

 **Please show your support by telling me what you think!**

 **c: Cya later, Snowflakes.**


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